There have been significant changes in the Humanitarian Grants program at The Rotary Foundation (TRF) with the biggest changes starting in 2003-04. The minimum amount of TRF matching funds that a club or clubs can apply for is $5,000. To accommodate smaller clubs and smaller projects, TRF developed the District Simplified Grants program for which smaller grants could be applied. This program is administered by the district. It took TRF from 1965 to 2000 to reach its first 10,000 grants. It took only 5 years, to 2005, to reach its second 10,000 grants. Rotarians have shifted their service emphasis from scholarships to humanitarian programs. At the same time, TRF shifted considerable administrative details back to the district. Now, each grant must be reviewed and certified as to its accuracy, completeness and that it meets TRF requirements in project scope at the district level before forwarding to TRF.
The above changes to the Humanitarian Grants Program added increased responsibility on the district Grants Sub-committee and since there has been no written district policy directing the work of this important committee, this policy review has been developed for the District Grants Sub-committee to use. Each member of the Sub-committee should have a copy of the District Rotary Foundation Manual (144EN) for review.
The Rotary Foundation Matching Grants Programs are designed to support the projects of Rotary clubs developed to address basic human needs in their local and international communities. Projects funded by TRF will:
Involve the active and personal participation of Rotarians. Rotarians from
both countries must actively participate in the project;
Assist in the development of stronger Rotary networks as clubs from
different nations work together to implement projects that have been
initiated by a Rotary club in a project location. It is important that a
project not be imposed by a sponsor club. Rather, a project should
satisfy the real needs of the receiving country;
Display a commitment to stewardship of funds (voluntary contributions
of donors worldwide) which reflect the 4-Way Test and of responsible fiscal oversight. The Trustees have a fiduciary responsibility to the donors of TRF to see that funds are spent as intended;
Address humanitarian needs that Rotary clubs have identified in their
communities, with the aim of providing sustainable development.
For TRF Matching Grants (MG), these procedures will apply:
- Grant funds in the form of DDF are available on a first-come, first served basis, as a match of up one dollar per dollar contributed to the project by District 5100 clubs and Rotarians (with compliance of provisions of Sections 5 and 6), and for projects where the grant application is complete and has been reviewed by the Grants Sub-committee, and all corrections and changes required by the Grants Sub-committee have been made.
- All Matching Grants must be submitted electronically and be received by the Grants Sub-committee chairperson between July 1 and March 10 of the Rotary year in which the application is to be submitted to TRF to allow the committee members adequate time to review the application. All Matching Grants must be in Evanston by March 31 to be accepted by TRF. Grants arriving past that date will be returned to sponsor club for re-submission the next year. Unless specifically authorized by TRF, returned Matching Grant applications shall be resubmitted to the Grants Sub-committee for review of completeness. The purpose of this is to confirm that the application has signatures of the presidents of the sponsoring clubs, District Grants Sub-committee Chair, and the District Rotary Foundation Chairs for the Rotary year in which the application is resubmitted to TRF.
- Preference may be given to clubs based on their per capita contributions to the Annual Programs Fund of the Rotary Foundation and clubs making minimal contributions or no contributions may require Special District Approval. In most cases, these clubs should not expect to be able to use DDF for humanitarian grants nor be able to participate in educational programs of the Rotary Foundation.
- All signatories of the primary contacts must be from that same club.
- In order to allow clubs of all sizes and resources to participate in matching grants, the international co-sponsor club shall include one or more participating clubs. A participating club shall contribute $250.00 or more to the project. Clubs may contribute less than $250.00, but for the purposes of DDF allocation (see next section) shall be considered a contributing club, not a participating club. The international co-sponsor should provide, at a minimum, to all clubs contributing financially to the project copies of the application as approved by TRF, approval letters, interim and final reports, stories and images of the project. The ultimate goal is to enable every club in the district, if the members of the club so choose, to participate in an international project and to utilize all DDF allocated for humanitarian grants each year.
- Effective July 1, 2008 requests for DDF for matching grants up to $5,000 shall require one participating club in addition to the international co-sponsor of the project. Request for DDF between $5,000 and $7,500 shall require two participating clubs in addition to the international co-sponsor club. Requests for DDF between $7,500 and $10,000 shall require the participation of three participating clubs in addition to the international co-sponsor. Requests for DDF above $10,000 requires participation by at least 5 clubs and requires Special District Approval.
- For any MG requesting more than $10,000 District Designated Funds (DDF), the application must be approved for accuracy and completeness by the sub-committee and then reviewed and approved by the DG and the DRFC Chair.
District Simplified Grants
District Simplified Grants (DSG) are designed by the TRF for use by Rotary clubs to do small projects in their community or internationally. The procedures for DSG in our district are as follows:
- Grants are made in the amounts of $250 to $2,000 per club with a maximum total of $2000 per club per year and as a match of up one dollar per dollar contributed to the project by District 5100 clubs and Rotarians.
- Grants are made for projects where the grant application is complete and has been reviewed by the Grants Sub-committee, and all corrections and changes required by the Grants Sub-committee have been made.
- All District Simplified Grant applications must be submitted electronically and must be received by the Grants Sub-committee chairperson between July 1 and March 10.
- Several clubs may join together to do one project, thereby increasing the amount of funding available for a larger project.
- The requirements for a DSG are basically the same as for a MG.
- No two primary club contacts may be in the same household.
- Financial contribution by the club to the project shall be equal to or greater than the amount of DDF requested.
- A final report shall be provided to the District Rotary Foundation Chair within two months of completion of the project. Interim reports shall be provided as directed by the District Rotary Foundation Chair.
The Grants sub-committee members should be working in promoting both types of grants which will encourage the creation of Rotary networks and help create goodwill and understanding among our partners.
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